Shadows in the Night: The Long Awaited Return
by WWWLover
Summary: Rated T, just in case. When a friend's daughter is kidnapped, it brings back bad memories for Nick Knight. But, as the investigation progresses, Nick begins to realize that someone once thought lost really wasn't lost at all. Book 1 in a series. R/R!
1. Painful Memory

"Shadows in the Night: The Long Awaited Return"

Based on "Forever Knight"

Nick Knight sighed as he settled into his couch, turning on the radio. Some classical music started floating throughout the room. He closed his eyes, letting the magic of the music overwhelm him, letting the music bring back his memories.

It was that time of year again. The time of year when one memory was prominent in his mind. The memory of someone who was once very close and dear to him. Someone who, he realized, he had a hard time living without.

Janette and LaCroix had, too, been affected by her disappearance. Janette was heartbroken, like Nick had been. LaCroix, though he would never admit it, was heartbroken as well.

What made the situation worse was that she never told him that she was leaving. One night, she just disappeared and he never heard from her again. It was the worst day of his life.

His eyes filled with tears when he realized what day it was. July 22. Her birthday. The anniversary of the day that she first came into his life so many centuries before. The anniversary of the happiest day of his life.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to make it through work. He figured that he would have to go home early. He hoped that Natalie and Schanke would understand his behavior. After all, it was the first time that he would be spending this day at work with them. Last year, he took the day off and kept to himself. When asked where he was, he just claimed that he was sick.

Nick looked up when he felt Janette's presence enter the loft. He slowly turned and saw Janette standing on the second floor balcony.

"What are you doing here, Janette?" Nick asked "Usually, I have to go to you"

"I know what today is, Nicolai" Janette DuCharme said "I've taken the liberty of calling the police station for you. You know as well as I do that you'll not be of any use for them today"

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He knew that Janette was right. He didn't say anything as she walked down the stairs and sat down next to him on the couch.

"How are you doing this time, Nicolai?" Janette asked "Is it getting any easier for you?"

"It will never be easy for me, Janette" Nick said, not looking at her "If anything, its getting harder"

Janette nodded. "It's hard for me too, Nicolai" she said "It's hard for everyone"

"She didn't tell anyone!" Nick suddenly exclaimed, standing "She didn't tell me, you, LaCroix. She just up and left!"

"She must have had a good reason, Nicolai" Janette said, remaining seated "Alexandria always did what she thought was best for everyone"

There was a pause.

"How is Valeria dealing with this?" Janette asked "I haven't spoken with her since Alexandria disappeared"

"She's fine, Janette" Nick said, angrily "This hasn't affected her in the least. I doubt that anything involving Alex would affect her, not after what happened"

"That's understandable" Janette said "Have you tried to talk to anyone else in the family? What about Renata and Damian?"

"No, I haven't" Nick said "I'm sure that they wouldn't want to talk about it as well. No one wants to talk about it. But, in a way, I feel like the family needs to. I feel like we should talk about what happened, that that's the only way we might be able to move on"

"Words of pure wisdom" said a voice "Maybe you have learned something after all"

Janette and Nick looked up to find Lucien LaCroix standing in front of the elevator to Nick's loft.

"Getting the family together to talk about Alexandria's passing is a very good idea" LaCroix said "Maybe the family will finally get out of this state of mourning"

"No one said Alex was dead, LaCroix!" Nick said "We probably would have heard if she died!"

"Not that she could have died, anyway" Janette added "Let's not forget that"

"Of course I haven't forgotten that" LaCroix said "But, let's think about this logically. No one in the community has heard from her in almost 100 years! No one in the community has seen her in almost 100 years! What else are we supposed to think?"

"That's she's hiding somewhere" Nick said

"Why would Alexandria of all people be hiding somewhere?" LaCroix said "If anything, people should be hiding from Alexandria"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Is this all you came over here for, LaCroix?" he asked "To make me feel even worse about what today is?"

"You weren't the only one affected by her disappearance, Nicholas" LaCroix said "I knew that Janette was going to be over here. So, I decided to come to see if we could finally talk about what happened and move on."

"I don't want to talk about it" Nick said, sitting down again "Not right now. Not yet"

"You have to talk about it, Nicholas!" LaCroix said "It's the only way you're going to be able to move on!"

Nick didn't say anything. Janette looked down at the floor. LaCroix looked between his "son" and "daughter" and resisted rolling his eyes.

"It's time to move on, Nicholas" LaCroix said "You might want to tell that to Renata and Damian the next time you talk to them"

Nick and Janette didn't say anything as LaCroix left the loft. Janette kissed Nick on the cheek and quietly left soon after. After he was alone, Nick broke down into tears.

&&&&&

The next night, at the station, Nick was still unsure if he was going to be able to make it through the night. What LaCroix had said had really stuck in his mind. Was it really time to move on?

What he had said to Janette he wasn't expecting to happen for a long time. The chances that Valeria would even speak to him again were slim. The chances that Valeria would even care that much about Alex ever again were slim. Renata and Damian would try to do their best to talk their sister into doing what Nick needed, but that never promised anything.

He tried to keep telling himself that LaCroix was wrong. Alex couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. It was impossible for her to be killed.

But, what if someone had figured it out? What if another vampire had figured out how to kill her and did the deed?

_No, that doesn't make sense!_ Nick thought _Alex had virtually no enemies. She got along with practically everybody and if there was anyone she didn't get along with, their dislike for each other wouldn't have been lethal._

Nick sighed as he sat down at his desk. His partner hadn't gotten there yet. Nick put his head in his hands, trying desperately not to revert back to his memories. He knew that those would only bring him more pain.

"Something wrong, Nick?" asked a familiar voice

Nick looked up into the eyes of Dr. Natalie Lambert.

"Yesterday was a rough day, Nat" Nick replied "A very rough day"

"I heard you took a sick day" Natalie said "Were you really sick or do I know better?"

"You know better" Nick said, with a smile

Natalie chuckled. "So, what really happened?"

"Remembering someone who was once very dear to me" Nick said "Yesterday was her birthday"

Natalie noticed the tears forming in Nick's eyes. "Someone who, I assume, is gone?"

Nick nodded. "We're not exactly sure if she's dead or not"

"How can you not be sure?" Natalie asked "Is your friend a…?"

Nick nodded. "One day, almost 100 years ago, this…friend of mine disappeared" he said "No one has seen or heard from her since then"

"I'm so sorry" Natalie said, pulling Schanke's desk chair over beside Nick and sitting down "That must be horrible"

"It is"

Natalie paused before she spoke. "Why do I get the feeling that this person was more than just a friend?"

Nick let out a chuckle. "You're good"

Natalie smiled. "I do try"

Nick paused. "You're right. She was more than just a friend" he said "She was…"

Natalie waited for Nick to respond.

"She was my daughter, Nat" Nick said, turning to look at Natalie "She was my beautiful daughter"

* * *

**_Hope that you like it so far!!_**

**_PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!! I need to make sure that I am doing a good job and am keeping the characters as close to in character as possible!_**


	2. Personal Crisis

_**Castle Brabant, 1211**_

_Nicholas DeBrabant was pacing outside the doors of his wife's chambers. Every once in a while, loud shouts would come from the room. The shouts always made Nicholas even more scared than he already was. He was afraid the shouts meant that his wife was dying._

_"Why don't you sit down, Nicholas?" Damian DeCamillo, his brother-in-law, said "All that pacing can't be doing you any good"_

_"I'm too nervous, Damian" Nicholas replied, turning to look at Damian "Weren't you nervous when Ahana was giving birth?"_

_"Of course I was" Damian said "You remember, don't you? I was a wreck! Your mother finally had to get some of the guards to take me away for a little while so I could calm down"_

_Nicholas was still pacing._

_"Do you need me to get the guards for you?" Damian asked, with a laugh _

_"Nicholas!"_

_Nicholas and Damian turned when they heard Rinaldo and Adan, Ahana's brothers, run down the hall._

_"We came as soon as we heard" Adan LeAcelet said "How is she?"_

_"She's been in there for hours" Nicholas said, softly "It started last night"_

_"Don't worry, Nicholas" Rinaldo LeAcelet said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder "Everything's going to be fine. These things take time"_

_Just then, there was a loud wail. Everyone turned towards the door as it opened and Fleur DeBrabant walked out._

_"Oh, Nicolai!" she said "That was a miracle. A true miracle"_

_"How is she?" Nicholas asked "How is Valeria?"_

_"She's resting" Fleur replied "Your daughter put her through quite an ordeal"_

_"My daughter" Nicholas said, a smile spreading across his face_

_"Yes, Nicolai" Fleur said "You have a beautiful baby daughter"_

_Nicholas smiled. Rinaldo, Damian, and Adan looked at each other and smiled. _

_"Come in and meet her" Fleur said, taking her brother's hand in her own_

_Nicholas could only nod as Fleur pulled him into the room. He could see Valeria sleeping on the bed, her body drenched in sweat. He saw his mother and sisters-in-law gawking over a small bundle._

_His daughter._

_"Oh, Nicolai!" Madame DeBrabant said "She is so precious! A true DeBrabant, if I do say so myself!"_

_Nicholas smiled as Renata DeCamillo, Valeria's sister, pulled away the blanket covering the baby's face. The baby was truly beautiful, the most beautiful baby Nicholas had ever seen._

_"Why don't you hold her, Nicholas?" Ahana DeCamillo, Damian's wife, said, passing the baby into her father's arms_

_Nicholas carefully took the baby out of Ahana's arms. Almost immediately, the baby opened her eyes and smiled a very small smile at him._

_"Look at that!" exclaimed Fleur "Not even 10 minutes old and she is smiling!"_

_"What are you going to name her, Nicolai?" Renata asked "What have you and Valeria discussed?"_

_"Valeria and I actually made an agreement" Nicholas said, smiling at the women in his family "If the baby was a boy, she got to pick the name. If it was a girl, I got to pick the name"_

_"So, what did you pick?" Fleur asked_

_"The newest member of the family is…" Nicholas said, looking back at the baby in his arms "Alexandria Marietta DeBrabant"_

_"Oh, Nicolai, how beautiful!" Madame DeBrabant said _

_"Well, we shall leave you now, Nicolai" Ahana said "Give you some time alone with your new daughter"_

_"Thank you so much" Nicholas said "I am indebted to you for what you did"_

_"Don't worry, Nicolai" Renata said, smiling "It's what families do"_

_Nicholas smiled as the women walked out of the room. He looked back at his daughter._

_"Hello, Alexandria" Nicholas said softly to the baby "I'm your Daddy. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. You will always be safe"_

&&&&&

"Daughter?" Natalie said "From before you were a…?"

Nick nodded. "She was born when I was 17" he said "I brought her across 17 years later"

"So, you were married?"

Nick nodded. "Her mother's name is Valeria DeCamillo" he said "We were married until our daughter was 14. We got divorced and went our separate ways. Our daughter opted to stay with me when the divorce happened. We only reunited once our daughter had been brought across"

"Why did you bring her across?" Natalie asked "Was she dying?"

&&&&&

_**Castle Brabant, 1229****_

_"My mother, sister, and daughter have not seen me since I left for the Crusades" Nicholas DeBrabant said, turning to his travel companions "I'm not disappearing again without seeing them one last time!"_

_"That is all very well and good, Nicolai" Janette DuCharme replied "But, you presume a great deal that we are prepared to die for one thing which we are not"_

_"They are my flesh and blood!"_

_"Not anymore!" Lucien LaCroix yelled, walking over to him "Just get on with it!"_

_"Nicolai?"_

_The three vampires turned at the sound of the voice of Fleur DeBrabant._

_"You're back! Nicolai!" Fleur said, running into her brother's arms "Oh! My dearest brother, thank God you're home! Can it be you after all these years?"_

_"And, you a woman now!" Nicholas said, smiling at his sister "I can't believe my eyes. My little flower has blossomed. My little Fleur!"_

_They hugged. Janette and LaCroix looked away from the display of brother and sister affection._

_"You must tell me everything!" Fleur said, pulling away from Nicholas "The Crusades! The adventures!"_

_"I do not mean to be rude" Nicholas said "But, we are sick from travel without rest and we have been injured in a skirmish down the road"_

_Fleur turned to Janette and LaCroix and walked up to LaCroix. "What terrible misfortune has befallen on you all?" she said "This gentleman's suffering is very great!"_

_LaCroix flinched at Fleur's touch. _

_"Nicolai!" _

_The group turned at the sound of Madame DeBrabant._

_"A miracle!" she said, hugging her son "After all this time, I was certain you were killed in battle."_

_"Where's Alexandria?" Nicholas asked _

_The happiness on Fleur and Madame DeBrabant's face automatically disappeared._

_"Where's Alexandria?" Nicholas asked again, nervous_

_"Upstairs, Nicolai" Fleur said "In bed"_

_"She is very sick, Nicolai" Madame DeBrabant said "Valeria is with her right now. It doesn't look good…"_

_"No!" Nicholas said "Take me to her, now!"_

_Nicholas fought back tears as his mother led him up the small stair case, with Janette close behind, not knowing what was happening between Fleur and LaCroix._

_&&&&&_

_"Nicholas…" Valeria said, as she watched her ex-husband rush into Alexandria's chambers "Thank God!"_

_"How is she?" Nicholas demanded _

_"Not well, Nicholas" Valeria said "She's dying. The doctors don't think that she will make it through the night"_

_Nicholas's eyes filled with tears. _

_"I'll give you some time alone with her" Valeria said, leaving the room._

_"Alexandria…" Nicholas said, causing Valeria to stop and watch from the doorway "My angel. Don't worry. I'm home now. I'll save you"_

_Valeria watched as Nicholas bent down and bit Alexandria's neck. Her eyes widened only a little. Why hadn't she thought of that?_

_A few moments later, Nicholas lifted his head off of Alexandria's neck. He fed her some of his blood. The turning process was now complete. All that was left was for Alexandria to wake up a vampire._

_Nicholas turned to see Valeria standing in the doorway._

_"Valeria…"_

_"Not to worry, Nicholas" Valeria said "I know what you did and what you are. I am one as well, as is everyone else in the family"_

_"You mean…?"_

_Valeria nodded. "You're not the only vampire in the family" she said "Everyone but Fleur and your mother are vampires"_

_"I couldn't let her die" Nicholas said "I had to save her"_

_"I know, Nicholas" Valeria said "I know"_

&&&&&

Nick nodded. "She had gotten sick a few days before I arrived at Castle Brabant with LaCroix and Janette" he explained "Valeria, who was already a vampire at the time, was already at the castle when we arrived. My mother had sent for her because the doctors all said that there was nothing that could be done to save my daughter"

"That must have been horrible"

"It was" Nick said "I couldn't bear to see my daughter in pain. So, the night I came home, I brought her across."

"What was her name?"

"Alexandria" Nick replied "But, as the years went on, more and more people started calling her Alex. Now, she goes by – or went by – both names."

Just then, the room was suddenly in an uproar. Nick and Natalie looked at each other and then went to quickly find Captain Stonetree.

"Captain!" Nick yelled "What's going on? Do we have a case?"

"Unfortunately" Captain Stonetree replied "And, it's going to be a very personal one for this entire team"

"Why, Captain?" Natalie asked "What happened?"

"It's Schanke's daughter" Stonetree replied "She's been kidnapped"

* * *

**_**Just wanted to remind everyone that some of those lines in the 1229 flashback were taken from the episode "Be My Valentine". They are not mine!_**

**_Hope you liked this chapter!!_**

**_Please Read and Review!!_**


	3. The Return

Her hair was the color of creamy, dark chocolate. Her eyes were the color of brown mixed with black, causing them to be only slightly lighter than her hair. In the bright, glow of the moonlight, her hair shined like the stars in the night sky.

Her skin was the color of honey mixed with creamy caramel. This was a result of spending most of her mortal days out in the sun. She wasn't pale, like other vampires. For some reason, her skin didn't change when she was brought across.

Her smile put anyone who saw it into a magical trance. Her teeth were as white as new fallen snow.

For her height and "age", she had the perfect sized body, weighing no more than 130 pounds.

&&&&&

She watched as the van pulled up in front of the old warehouse. She could hear the screams of the little girl coming from inside, though they weren't audible to the human ear. She knew who was responsible for this little girl getting ripped out of her bed in the middle of the night. And, she was going to make him pay.

&&&&&

Domenico DeOlivado smiled as he watched his men bring the frightened girl into the warehouse. She was going to be his ticket to the big money. Oh, what the Crown wouldn't do when one of their star detective's daughter's goes missing?

"Hi, sweetie" Domenico said, kneeling down next to the girl "How are you doing?"

Jennifer Schanke didn't answer. She was too afraid.

"Don't worry about anything, ok?" Domenico said "We're going to take very good care of you. No one's going to hurt you"

"Now, you know it's not good to lie to little children" said a voice "What kind of a heartless bastard have you become?"

Domenico whipped around to have his biggest fear realized. He gulped at who he saw standing before him.

"Now, just let the girl come with me, and no one gets hurt" she said "Because, you know that I can hurt you"

"How is this possible?" Domenico asked "You…?"

She chuckled. "I can't die, remember?" she said "And, do you really think that I would tell anyone how to kill me? You can't be that stupid!"

Jenny watched in fear as Domenico and the mystery girl talked.

"You have been gone for years!" Domenico said, standing "You disappeared from everybody's radar!"

"I had to" she replied, coldly "You made sure of that!"

Domenico gulped again as she took a step closer to him. "Now, you know that I had nothing to do with that…"

"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard" she said "You set me up! You are the reason that I had to disappear!"

"Why have you returned?" Domenico asked "Surely, the Enforcers are still looking for you"

"They stopped that chase 50 years ago" she replied "They moved on to problems that are actually possible to solve"

"Why did you wait so long?"

"To make sure that the Enforcers had forgotten" she replied "Even though I can't be killed, I'm sure that they would have had me locked up and tortured for the crime _you_ committed!"

She took another step closer to him, quickly glancing at Jenny. She motioned for Jenny to back away. Jenny nodded and obliged.

"Give me the girl, Domenico" she said "Hand her over!"

Domenico looked past her and smiled an evil smile. Just then, she collapsed to the ground, due to one of Domenico's men hitting her over the head.

"Lock her and the girl up" Domenico said "I'll deal with her later"

The man nodded and did what Domenico asked. Domenico chuckled.

"I don't have to answer to you, Alexandria"

&&&&&

Nick barely stopped his car before both he and Natalie were out of it and running up Schanke's driveway to his house. His house was already swarming with police officers. Nick and Natalie didn't like the scene in front of them at all.

They found Schanke sitting on the couch with his wife, Myra. Myra was crying. Schanke was trying to put on a brave face, but Nick and Natalie could tell that he wanted to cry as well. He had every right to cry as well.

"Hey, Schank" Nick said, as he and Natalie walked up to their friends

"Nick, Natalie" Donald Schanke said "I'm so glad that you're here"

"We wouldn't dream of being anywhere else, Schank" Natalie said "I'm so sorry that this happened to you. Is there anything we can do?"

"Thank you, Natalie" Myra Schanke said "I'm afraid that only thing that we need is Jenny back"

"We're going to get her back" Nick said "I promise you. We're going to get her back"

Natalie could tell that this whole situation was reminding him of his own daughter. She was almost afraid at how personally involved _Nick_ would be in this case, what with the memories of his own daughter and now Jenny missing plaguing his mind.

"Find anything, Captain?" Nick asked, as Stonetree walked up to the group

"I'm afraid not" Stonetree said "We might have to wait for the kidnapper to get in contact with us"

Myra let out a cry and buried her face into her husband's chest. Schanke let the tears forming in his eyes pour down his cheeks. Natalie blinked away the tears in her own eyes and looked at Nick. She could see the anger in his eyes. She knew that he wasn't going to wait around for anything.

&&&&&

Alex woke up to find herself laying on the damp, cold floor of a basement closet. As she sat up, she noticed Jenny trembling in the corner.

"Hey" she said, softly "It's ok. Everything's going to be ok. I'm not going to hurt you"

Alex watched as Jenny slowly crawled out of the corner and over to her.

"What's your name?" Alex asked, as Jenny sat next to her

"Jenny" she replied "Jenny Schanke"

"Nice to meet you, Jenny" Alex said "I'm Alex"

"That's a boy's name!"

Alex chuckled. "It's short for Alexandria" she said "Just like Jenny is short for, I'm assuming, Jennifer?"

Jenny nodded. "Do you know the man who took me?"

"Unfortunately yes" Alex replied "Yes, I do"

"He doesn't seem to like you" Jenny said "That's why he put you in here"

"You've got that right"

"What did he mean when he said that you disappeared?" Jenny asked "You said that he caused you to run away. What does that mean?"

Alex stared at Jenny for a moment. "He blamed me for something that he did and I was going to pay for his mess up. I had to get away so no one would find me"

Jenny nodded. "Your parents must miss you, just like my parents miss me"

Alex nodded, tears forming in her eyes at the thought of her father. "I'm sure that they do" she said "I miss my father very much"

&&&&&

_**Spain, 1909**_

_Alexandria Lourdes, for that was the name she was going by at the time, breathed in deeply as she looked around the apartment that she had been sharing with her father for the past 6 months. So many wonderful memories had taken place in the apartment. Parties, laughter, smiles. Memories that she would always carry with her._

_She opened the ice box and grabbed many bottles of blood. She stuffed them in a bag she had gotten at the local market and put the bag on her shoulder. She went into her room and grabbed her jewelry box, which held all of the jewelry that Alexandria had collected over the years, even the gold necklace Nicholas had given her with the DeBrabant family symbol – a lion – dangling off of it. _

_Her eyes filled with tears as she walked by her father's room. He was sleeping now. After all, it was around noon. Alexandria quietly opened the door and took one last look at her father before she left. He looked so peaceful as he slept, without a care in the world. Tears filled her eyes as she closed the door. _

_Then, without looking back, Alexandria quickly left the apartment. She ran out onto the busy Spanish streets and began her journey. She had to get away. If she didn't, she would be tortured, maybe even killed. As much as it pained her to leave her family, Alexandria had to go into hiding._

_It was the only way her life could be saved._

&&&&&

"Don't worry" Jenny said "My Daddy is a police man. He'll find us"

Alex smiled. "I'm sure he will, Jenny" she said "But, until then, we have to come up with our own plan on how to get out of here"

"How are we going to do that?" Jenny asked

"I don't know yet" Alex said "But, I'm going to figure that out"

* * *

**_Hope that you like this chapter!!_**

**_Please Read and Review!!_**


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